Canvas Information and Help for Colorado Mountain College Students

For technical support, Contact CMC's IT Department’s Service Desk : 970-947-8438 or 1-866-642-0495 or servicedesk@coloradomtn.edu. Hours of Operation include:

Monday – Thursday • 7:30 am – 10 pm
Friday • 7:30 am – 7 pm
Saturday • 9 am – 1
OR
Outside of CMC Service Desk hours, you can contact Instructure (the maker of Canvas) for assistance: 1-833-266-4994 support@instructure.com

You can also click on the Help icon at the lower left corner of the screen while logged into Canvas to request tech support.

To learn how to use Canvas in general, or to learn more about a specific Canvas feature, visit the Canvas Guides or the Canvas Mobile Guides if you're using a mobile device to access Canvas.

Accessing Canvas

Canvas FAQ

 

Accessing Canvas

What do I need to access my Canvas courses? Which time zone does Canvas operate in?

In order to access Canvas, you need a computer or mobile device with Internet access. Canvas can be visited via most major web browsers including Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, and Safari, and is supported under Windows, Macintosh, and UNIX operating systems. For optimal conditions, Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox are the recommended browsers. Instructure offers mobile phone applications free for download for mobile devices. Learn more about these apps in the Canvas Mobile Guides.

To access Canvas, you must log into Basecamp then you can proceed directly to Canvas- no Canvas-specific username and password are required. To log into Basecamp use your CMC network user name and password. These are the same credentials you use to log into WebAdvisor. Once you've logged into Basecamp, look for the “My CMC Apps” tab and the link to Canvas at lower right. From there you can proceed directly to Canvas.

Colorado Mountain College's Canvas system operates in the Mountain Time zone. If you can't log into Basecamp, please contact the IT Department's Service Desk for assistance.

Will Canvas work on my mobile device?

Canvas is built on open web standards and uses minimal instances of Flash, so most features are supported on mobile devices. However, not all features of Canvas work on mobile devices. Instructure currently offers apps free for download for mobile devices. Learn more about these apps in the Canvas Mobile Guides.

Please keep in mind that many faculty set up their Canvas courses assuming that you will be using a computer, not a mobile device. We suggest consulting your instructor if you intend to principally use a mobile device to access Canvas.

Canvas FAQ

Is a student orientation for Canvas available?

Yes, Canvas provides Student Tour Videos to help orient you with your online classroom. These videos are not specific to Colorado Mountain College, but are a great way to get you started.

Canvas Student Tour Videos

How will my teacher contact me via Canvas?

By default, Canvas will send you certain alerts about important activities in your Canvas courses, like due date changes or newly issued grades, via your CMC email account. However, Canvas assumes that with the ability to set up custom Notifications, students are getting the alerts via the channels they prefer, such social media or cell phone text messages. Be sure to configure your Notifications so that you receive important alerts at the frequency you need and via the channel(s) you prefer. This tutorial explains how to customize your Notifications.

Canvas has an internal messaging system entirely based within Canvas. You can use the Inbox icon at left to send messages to any other CMC Canvas user who is enrolled in a course with you. Whenever you write a comment when you submit an assignment, it's copied to the Inbox for you and your teacher. Likewise, any feedback a teacher provides on an assignment you've submitted will be copied into your Inbox for your convenience.

When can I access my Canvas courses?

It will be up to your instructors to enable you to access your Canvas courses. You typically will not have access to your courses in Canvas until the first day of class. You do not need to request access as you are automatically enrolled after registration in your Canvas course(s). It generally will take one day after you register for a class before you can access its accompanying Canvas course, provided that the instructor has permitted students to access the course.

I can't find a course I registered for in Canvas.

In order to view your course in Canvas, two things must happen:

First, you must be officially enrolled in the course and second, approximately one day must have passed since you registered so that the college's systems have had a chance to update Canvas. If you have waited more than a day and you still cannot locate your course on your complete course list (click the "all courses" option to check your complete course list), please contact the Service Desk.

What happens in Canvas when I drop a class?

If a student drops a class, he or she will be removed from the associated Canvas course. This occurs once the system has had time to process this change in registration, typically one day.

Canvas doesn't show all of my courses! How do I access them?

This tutorial explains how to customize the courses that are shown to you on the first screen you see (aka the Dashboard) when you log into Canvas. After a semester ends, your courses from that semester will be archived and will not appear on that first from your short drop-down course list 120 days later. In any case, you can always access all of your courses, past and present via your complete course list.

What about the Turnitin anti-plagiarism tool and my assignments?

Your instructor has the option of enabling the Turnitin anti-plagiarism tool to check assignments that are submitted online in your Canvas course. Please contact your instructor if you have any questions about Turnitin.

How do I check my grades in Canvas? What about my final grades for a semester?

This tutorial demonstrates how a student can check personal grades in a Canvas course, assuming that the instructor has inputted grades into the Canvas course for students to view. Final grades are not in Canvas. Final grades are viewed at the end of the semester by logging into WebAdvisor, clicking on the Students Menu, then clicking on Grades. Next, select the semester you're interested in, and click the Submit button. Your final grades for that semester will be displayed.

How long after the semester ends can I access my courses?

Students can view their old Canvas courses at any point, but since the courses are archived 120 days after the semester ends, students will not be able to do any work in old courses. Students can still view any of their personal grades recorded in an archived course's Grades section. Please consult your instructor if you have an Incomplete grade or any questions about an old Canvas course.